The Mastins: Jacob

I'm a bit behind on this post, but I want to be sure to write down all of the things Jacob is up to these days.

Sleep: We're in a pretty good sleep groove right now. We just pushed Jacob's awake time up to about an hour between feedings (it was about 40 minutes). It seems to have helped him to nap better. He is sleeping through the night most nights and I cutoff middle of the night feedings last week. On the nights he does wake up I re-swaddle him, give him a paci, and sometimes have to let him cry a little. He goes back to sleep {occasionally off and on} until about 6:30. To put him to sleep I turn on his sound machine, swaddle him, hold him upright {crazy detail I know, but I finally figured out this was much better than a nursing position because it made him want a paci}, sing Jesus Loves Me, and lay him down. He is usually asleep within 15 minutes or so.

Likes/Dislikes: Jacob HATES his car seat. With a passion. He doesn't sleep very well in the car which is a difficult trait for a second child to have. I'm hoping he'll outgrow it soon. He likes his activity gym and his bouncy seat with the vibration on. He still likes a paci occasionally, but not as much as he used to. We still swaddle him for sleep, but I'm hoping we can drop it soon. It makes it difficult for others to put him down since he has to be swaddled really tightly or he'll break out. He is getting much better hand control and likes to suck on his fists, but he still isn't quite ready to let the swaddle go. I'll try again in a couple of weeks.

Schedule: Still the same schedule we've been on for a while. Eats about 6:30, 9:30, 12:30, 3:30, 6:30, and around 10:00 {or earlier if I can get myself ready for bed that soon}. As I mentioned he has about an hour of awake time after each feeding and then naps until the next feeding {usually}. So he is napping four times a day right now. I am starting to try to give him a couple of ounces in a bottle after I nurse him at 6:30. I have a suspicion he may not be getting enough milk at that time of day. However, I haven't tried it enough to know for sure. I just thought about this about four nights ago when I gave him a bottle {that I thought would be enough because it's what I pumped} and he still seemed hungry. I let him nurse and he went to town. The two nights I did it he slept solid until 6:30 and then 7:00, when I had to wake him to stay on schedule. The two nights I didn't do it, he woke up around 4:00 one night and 5:20 the other. It seems odd that the extra ounces would help at that feeding and not the 10:00, but I've tried to give him a little bottle after nursing before and he didn't seem interested. I guess calories are calories when it comes to sleeping through the night. I could be totally wrong, but I just want to try it a few more nights to see if it helps him to be more consistent. He's been sleeping through the night off and on since he was about 5 weeks old, so I really feel like he should be able to make it more consistently than he is. I've heard/read that sometimes women with other kids have a lower milk supply at the end of the day from being so busy all day. I'd believe it. We shall see.

Milestones: Jacob is smiling like crazy! He is also a talkative little guy. Give him some undivided attention and he will coo at you as long as you let him. He does this especially with Bryant and me. I'm not sure I can officially say he's laughing yet, but he definitely giggled at me the other day. So sweet. He has definitely found his hands and likes to suck on them, but I think he gets a little frustrated by it. I suspect once he can find his thumbs or his fingers he'll be much happier.

Sizes: Size 2 diapers; He can still wear some 0-3 month clothes, but mostly 3-6 month.